


The Morgan Project

by citizenjess (givehimonemore)



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Mindy Project
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Movie Reference, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-18 20:43:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20197879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/givehimonemore/pseuds/citizenjess
Summary: Pepper and Tony briefly darken the hallowed halls of Shulman & Associates during Pepper's pregnancy.





	The Morgan Project

**Author's Note:**

  * For [patientalien](https://archiveofourown.org/users/patientalien/gifts).

> I'm not sure how many Marvel fans watch The Mindy Project, but my pipe dream is that Mindy Kaling can play Ms. Marvel's mom or teacher or cool aunt or something eventually.

The baby is kind of an 'oops,' a not precisely random happenstance borne largely of desperation and gratitude and a stubborn determination to Live, and if Tony is a little clingier than usual during the conception, a little more likely to babble about outer space and destiny and how he wonders whether Morgan will be allergic to strawberries, too, Pepper, likewise, is happy enough that the fates spared Tony Stark that she just kind of grins and bears it; except: "You're still really hung up on Morgan, huh?" she asks, peacefully enough, Tony - her husband - nestled against her side in the aftermath. "You've never even met him. I don't even know him that well. We hung out once for a few days on a family camping trip."

"I bet you toasted a mean s'more." Tony kisses her temple. "He just sounds like an interesting guy. He used to steal cars or something, yeah? And then he cleaned himself up and became a nurse. It's a nice redemption tale," Tony adds as Pepper continues staring at him incredulously, a small smile nonetheless upturning her mouth. "He's got an industrious spirit. Also, it's a gender-neutral name, so all the bases are covered."

"You've really thought this through," Pepper muses. Their eyes meet. Tony's are wet; he's more emotional now.

"I had a lot of time on my hands recently." He holds Pepper's face between his hands as if for emphasis, and then kisses her forehead, nose, and chin, and then moves back up so they can lock lips. "I love you," he tells her, and it's almost painfully intimate.

Pepper affectionately ruffles Tony's hair, speckled, somewhat prematurely, due to trauma, with gray. "Morgan, it is," she agrees. Then: "Is that the end of your refractory period, or are you just happy to see me?" she teases.

"Best two out of three," Tony cajoles, and the wattage of his smile could power the entire, albeit halved, universe. 

*

Speaking of the universe, if there is one thing to be said for Thanos, it's that The Snap didn't discriminate; and yet, in spite of a roughly fifty-fifty split of the cosmos' living creatures, randomness could still be incredibly cruel. For the survivors of Shulman & Associates, it had meant learning to survive without Jeremy or Anna, without Collette's sunny southern charm - Jody was, understandably, devastated, but at least living overseas meant that he wasn't there to mope around and visibly drink himself daily into a stupor - or Tamra's wiseass remarks. 

It also meant living without Danny Castellano. It wasn't something Mindy had ever considered, given the disparity in their eating habits and general lifestyle choices, which absolutely favored Danny. Morgan was a godsend; neither he nor Beverly gave her grief for her random teary outbursts, or even for bringing Leo to work a lot, if nothing else, just to make sure he, too, didn't turn to dust and disappear. Even so, the practice had suffered logistically post-Snap; even with only half as many people seeking gynecological care, it was still New York City. Mindy did her best not to resent the new faces around the office for not being their Snapped counterparts, but mostly, she threw herself into her work so she wouldn't have much time to figure out how she felt about everything.

Sometimes, she even almost enjoyed herself; today, for instance. "Dr. L? They're here." Morgan's toothy smile and trademark shaggy hair suddenly appear in a head-sized gap in her doorway. "You think he's already made it its own little robot suit?" 

Mindy rolls her eyes good-naturedly. "... probably," she concedes. Then, she follows Morgan around the corner and into Exam Room #1.

Tony Stark is almost exactly the same height and build as Danny, and it makes Mindy's heart clench. Fortunately, she's gotten pretty good at auto piloting a bit these days. "Pepper, hi!" she manages to chirp, smiling even as Stark's firm, warm handshake reminds her of what, who, she's lost. "There's a slight family resemblance!" she adds, gesturing at Morgan idling in the open doorway. She looks back at Pepper, and says quickly, "I mean, you're much prettier, of course. Hey, let's get this exam started, okay, 'bye, Morgan!"

"Boo," Morgan replies, the door swinging mostly closed behind him. 

Mindy half-busies herself with putting on fresh gloves while Pepper removes her (still teensy; roughly half of Mindy could fit into Mrs. Stark's chic maternity suit, she figures) outfit. Tony stands dutifully nearby, not hovering, but ready to help hold this or that garment or provide a steadying hand or presence as needed; the two communicate largely without words, and Mindy tries to be happy for them. At the same time, it's easier just to pretend that they're a reasonable facsimile of, say, Danny and one of his posh, politely standoffish, pre-Mindy girlfriends or something, the same way one might casually look through a current flame's old photo album with bemused curiosity. Mindy has never been particularly great at the clinical compassion part of being a doctor, but these days, it's become a professional survival technique.

Once Pepper is hefted onto the exam table, Mindy smears clear gel around her bare, softly rounded stomach with the transducer wand. "This is my favorite part," she tells Pepper and Tony, and together, they watch as a tell-tale form begins to emerge from the static on the small, square screen nearby. "So that's her head - er," Mindy blinks, "you guys aren't a couple of those yuppie weirdoes who don't want to know the sex of the baby until it's coming out, right? Because if so, uh, that's zie's head."

Pepper smiles. "Her head is beautiful." Beside her, perched on a stool, Tony squeezes her hand. 

"Oh, good." The wand idles. "So at ten weeks, give or take, she's about the size of a strawberry." Mindy isn't sure why that makes the expectant parents before her essentially giggle, but it's hardly the first time she's been the most awkward person in the room. "At this stage, she's even got hair and fingernails." 

"Clever girl," Tony remarks, the reference equally lost on Mindy as her allusion to Juno is on either of them. "Have you guys picked out a name yet?" she asks, feeling a little unappreciated.

"Almonzo," Pepper deadpans. There's a beat: "Mr. Potts here has his heart set on 'Morgan,' actually," she explains.

Mindy grimace-smiles. "Just don't let this one know that." She gestures towards the still-ajar doorway. "We'll never hear the end of it."

"Too late!" Morgan calls, unsurprisingly eavesdropping, and Mindy rolls her eyes. "Nature finds a way!" he adds, and Tony grins.

"Clearly it was the right choice." Impulsively, he plants a kiss on his wife's cheek. "What do you think, Pep? You're growing a little 'us' inside you. A little you, a little me."

"A lot of you," Pepper says good-naturedly, with an undercurrent of recognizing full well that she is merely the incubator for Iron Man Jr., and has begrudgingly accepted her lot in life as such. "Little Morgan Almonzo."

This time, Mindy can't help herself. "I mean, if you want her to get shoved into lockers at prep school every day, sure."

"I'm sure her best friend, Cap Garland, will let her out for lunch." When there is naught but crickets in response, even from Morgan, who is now not even making an effort to not appear to be ogling the goings-ons in the room, Pepper scoffs. "Not one Little House on the Prairie fan? Educate yourselves."

"Maybe we'll read them to Morgan Something Stark as bedtime stories." Tony and Pepper share a chaste yet warm kiss, and Morgan (Ransom Tookers) swoons. "Thanks for the baby fruit salad update, Doc." He and Pepper shake Mindy's hand, and then he helps Pepper into a sitting position. 

"You're very welcome. Come back in a couple of months and we'll talk baby sweet potato recipes." Mindy gestures at Morgan. "This guy can get that all set up for you, I'm sure."

"Already done!" Morgan crows proudly. 

"Efficient service with a smile," Tony remarks. "Good stuff." He leads Pepper by the hand towards the lobby, and Mindy busies herself with stripping the current paper off of the exam table. ("Make sure to give us five stars on Yelp," Morgan can be overheard telling them both.) 

Once the room is prepped for the next patient, Mindy allows herself to idle at the sink, the small luxury of washing her hands really a balm for, well, a lot of things these days. "Almonzo," she murmurs, and then shakes her head. "God, superheroes are nerds."


End file.
